For £39 you can have a family photo shoot this March 24th, in Waterloo Park, in under 10 minutes, come away with TWO digital images, and the opportunity to buy more with 50% off, all taken by the ridiculously talented Charlotte Gray.
And if “cheesy family photo shoots” aren’t your thing, then you are absolutely going to be very well placed with Charlotte Gray Photography actually. Her family photography is the very antithesis of wind machines in the hair, families wistfully looking into the distance as they prance through a cornfield, or everyone smiling perfectly as they look nowhere else but the camera… She doesn’t really do that. But what she does do is far better. And she’s incredible at it! Have a quick look at Charlotte’s Instagram page and you will see that, or take a look at this small smorgasbord of her style here:
I’ve worked with many photographers in my time including one who repeatedly pops up in my now time day job, but one time paid me a tenner (because he knew my mate and knew I was on set) to get him into the closed and very locked down Geri Halliwell “It’s Raining Men” video shoot. He was useless, I mean not useless (he’s a pap for The Sun) but he didn’t do a great job of pretending to be my bother (probably on a par with my great dancing to be fair) and kept furtively getting his camera out without so much as a look see to gauge who was watching. Which was, as it turned out, far more lucrative for him getting the shot of Geri popping out her van with a trussed up in a duvet coat Robbie Williams, than it was for me earning my tenner. Still… Memories. Anyway, my point is, I’ve worked with loads of them, some pretty good and some pretty bad and yet absolutely none are as clever as Charlotte! She has this sort of natural ability to just see the picture beautifully and take it – she really does make it look that easy too!
Charlotte captures moments as they happen, ones which you might not even notice as you’re in them. And the way she finds colour leaves you thinking, but how? I was there too and didn’t see that bit of old metal…. I met Charlotte on the train to London when Raff was a baby, we hit it off and have stayed friends ever since. She’s taken my picture a couple of times over the years when I’ve been able to afford it, because of course, with her level of skills and her back catalogue of incredible work, she doesn’t come cheaply. I had head shots with her once (to be repeated soon) when I felt fat, frumpy and the ugliest duckling on the pond. I was post partum, I wasn’t looking how I like to or in a way which made me feel anywhere near my confident self, yet she slipped me away to a lovely location she’d found; it was quiet, I wasn’t embarrassed because I felt instantly at ease with her, and she made me feel like a swan. Honestly, at that point, this feat alone shows her skill set!
And much later, in a post covid world, she showed me how to take new-born photographs myself. Using her online based course, which was created so that parents could DIY their babies pictures rather than having to go out. I managed to take pictures of Posie which are just wonderful as a result. She, of course, takes amazing new-born photographs for you if you don’t want to do it yourself, and I now have a combination of pictures of a tiny baby Posie, which she coached me through taking, and some of us together which Charlotte snapped while in between teaching. Just snaps… Yet, oh they are divine!
See, she’s pretty special. She’s also a great friend to me and a plethora of all she meets. She’s supportive, encouraging, kind, good and lots of fun to boot. Charlotte has three children of her own, she’s not shy to working with kids, and I’m pretty sure that aside from being the best parent she can be, and working her socks off to assist this, she also really wants to make the world a better place. Hence this photo shoot for charity.
Charlotte knows it’s expensive, well life in general is expensive isn’t it, so if you don’t have the money right now, if you’re really struggling but want to be able to capture family memories then send her a message, I know she will want to help you and will just ask you to pay it forward somehow another day. But, if you have £39 (which is a steal) to spend, then this is a very worthy cause with a fabulous end result for you getting two digital images. Take your kids, big and small, grandparents, dogs, take yourself on your own if you like… A family is a family however it’s made up and Charlotte wants to take your picture.
24th March, Waterloo Park, you need 10 minutes, Charlotte will do everything else and you can book your slot by visiting https://charlottegrayphotography.co.uk/charity-shoots! All profits will go to Reverse Rett and The Feed Nourish. You will receive 2 x digital images as chosen by Charlotte with the option to purchase more from a gallery she will supply you, with 50% off her standard rate should you wish to buy any extras.
See what Charlotte herself has to say about her latest charitable project here:
All images within this post take by Charlotte Gray.
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